Five Times Pepper Takes Care of Tony and One Time He Takes Care of Her
by Takada Saiko
Summary: Pepper has always watched out for him, from the beginning and all through their relationship. Every once and a while Tony gets a chance to take care of her too. For the Pepperony Week Day One challenge.


Notes:

This is for Day One of Pepperony Week 2019 over on Tumblr. Hope you guys enjoy!

**One: Hangover**

_Setting: Pre-Iron Man 1_

Work hard, play hard was a cliche in the business world, but Tony Stark took it to a whole new level that she couldn't possibly have been prepared for. He was a genius in the technical sense of the term, and there was no questioning his IQ, but for such an intelligent man he made some painfully stupid life choices. Regularly. It had taken a while for Pepper to adjust to the idea that while her day started at seven, she was lucky if he was out of bed by ten, and those were mornings when he wasn't fully hungover. On the ones that he was she found herself fielding calls for most of the day.

If she wasn't careful, this was going to turn into one of those nights that led to one of those days, and they couldn't afford that.

Pepper caught Happy's eye from where he hovered next to their boss and the bodyguard nodded firmly. She stood from her place and found her path immediately blocked by a familiar, towering figure holding three empty glasses he looked intent on refilling. "It's nearly one in the morning. He's been drinking since four -"

He waved at the bartender, gesturing to to glasses in his hand, before turning back to Pepper. "Give him another half hour with the general before we call it a night. We have him just about where we want him."

The redhead didn't waiver. "Obadiah, he's been flirting with the waitress for the _last_ half hour. Give him any more time or any more to drink and it's not going to end well." Obadiah pushed a long breath out through his nose, glancing back at where Tony was laughing and sitting on the back of the couch, leaned precariously close to the gorgeous waitress that was apparently to distracted by whwatever he was saying to get their refills herself. Thankfully, the general didn't look to put out by Tony's distraction. He was busy chatting with Rhodey who had been nursing the same drink for the last hour and a half.

"I'll have them bring him a water."

"We're past that point."

The bald man looked like he might argue with her again, but she saw it in his face as he relented. They both knew it was true. They both knew Tony. "Alright. You get him home."

It wasn't a question or even a request, but it wasn't like he really needed to say it either. If she left Tony in Obadiah's hands or even Happy's, he'd just order another drink and watch the sunrise. Possibly with the girl that was so close she was practically sitting in his lap.

"Bill, I hate to cut this short, but I didn't realize how late it had gotten. Tony and I have the board coming into town tomorrow and we'll be at the office at the break of dawn," Obadiah said, his focus drilled into the general who nodded his understanding.

"They're not in 'till 'leven," Tony argued and Pepper was already helping him to his feet, putting herself between him and the waitress.

"Time to go."

He turned to her, his whole face lighting up as he realized she was there. "Hey,Pep. Didn't realize you were still here. Have a drink with us."

"There's a car waiting for us."

"But I'm not done here."

"It's late. Everyone's turning in." She started him for the door

"You're no fun, Pep," her boss groaned, leaning heavily into her even as Happy came along his other side and tried to take some of his weight.

"Nope. None at all," she grumbled and waved to the limo. They got him shuffled in and she made sure his seat belt was fastened before turning back to Happy. "Can you bring his car around?"

"Yep," came the quick answer. It was like they had the routine down or something…

Pepper circled the back end of the limo and slipped into the opposite side, finding a pair of blurry brown eyes on her as she did. "You comin' home with me?"

"I'm going to make sure you get home," she corrected.

"That's what I said."

She didn't bother correcting him, but instead reached into her purse and busied herself with shuffling his schedule around for the morning. It was still early enough that he might - _might_ \- make the ten o'clock meeting before the board members were set to meet with him and Obadiah. She'd just instruct JARVIS to make sure the shower was chillier than usual and that the alarm was set so that he couldn't turn it off the next morning. If worse came to worse, she could go to his house after getting a couple hours' worth of work done and make sure he was up and ready to go.

The limo pulled around and Pepper helped her unsteady boss into the mansion. He didn't make it to the shower, though, but instead broke off for the nearest bathroom and lost everything he'd eaten or had to drink in the last few hours into the toilet. Pepper sighed, going for a towel and soaking it in cold water to take back to him.

Tony cracked an eye open from where he was sprawled out on the cool bathroom tiles dramatically and she handed him the towel. There might have been a grunt of thanks, but it was heard to tell as he pressed it against his face.

Pepper shook her head and moved out of the bathroom, her heels tapping against the hard floor as she went about the ritual of water by his bed, aspirin next to the water, and a trashcan next to the bed just in case he wasn't done by the time he flopped out for the night. Once everything was set she walked back downstairs to get him on his feet and into his bed so that she could go home and try to catch at least a little sleep before the next day.

He hadn't moved, and she nudged him gently with her foot. "I think I'm already hungover," he complained from under the towel.

"Aspirin's by the bed. You need to take it before you go to sleep. Come on."

Tony groaned and turned over. "Here's good."

"That's not your bed."

"But it could be."

She snorted, shaking her head. "It's really not. C'mon, Tony. I need you up and in bed before I can -"

That drew his attention and a playful grin tugged at his lips. "You're trying to get me in bed, Miss Potts?"

"I'd like to go home to my own, but I'm not leaving you on the bathroom floor."

He pulled in a deep breath, loosing it again in a way that almost sounded like he was grumbling, and slowly got to his feet. Tony swayed and Pepper steadied him, moving at his pace to the stairs and up. She waited until he had changed out of his suit - in his closet. She'd made the mistake once of _not_ specifying that and he'd started shedding clothes right in front of her - and dutifully took the painkillers and drank the large glass of water. Good. He was as close to set as he was going to be that night. "I'll see you in the morning, Mr Stark."

She turned to leave, but a hand snapped out from the bed and caught her wrist to stop her. She turned, ready to remind him that while he could get away with a lot, the games needed to end now. She was beyond exhausted and they both had a big day at the office the next morning. Instead of the expected joke, though, she found him staring seriously up at her. "You take good care of me. You know that?"

"It's my job."

He didn't say anything for a long moment, like he was working through his own response. He started once, then stopped himself, and his smile was a little wistful. "And you are excellent at your job, Miss Potts. Remind me to give you a raise?"

"I will," she said softly. "Get some sleep. I'll see you bright and early at the office tomorrow."

That broke his mood. He groaned and flopped back, mumbling about early mornings and how it wasn't like the board really cared what he had to say anyway. Pepper turned to leave, a small smile tugging into place.

* * *

**Two: Run Ragged**

_Setting: Iron Man 1_

He kept finding himself back there. It wasn't every time he closed his eyes, but enough that sleep was less and less appealing every time it happened. So he worked and he tinkered and he planned. It gave him something to focus on rather than the sounds of his own screams or the shock jolting through his body as the wiring from the first magnet came into contact with the water they'd half-drowned him in or - and perhaps especially - the light draining from Yinsen's eyes.

It also left him worn out and his immune system compromised. It had started with a sneeze. One innocent sneeze that had turned into a cough that was now wracking his body so hard that he fell off his work stool. The fit continued as Tony braced himself on the table to keep from dropping to the floor.

"Tony?"

He jumped at the unexpected voice and turned to find a very worried looking Pepper Potts standing just inside his workspace. He tried for a smile. "Hey. Didn't hear you come in," he managed to croak out, his throat raw and sore.

"Couldn't imagine why," she mumbled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just got something stuck in my throat."

Blue eyes narrowed at him suspiciously and he tried for an innocent grin. It failed as he sank back against the table, another coughing fit pulling him down. He heard DUM-E whirl worriedly somewhere off to his right and prayed he wouldn't douse him with the fire extinguisher. That would do wonders for his already-aggravated lungs.

A glass of water dropped down in front of him and he managed to get his hand around it. He drank gratefully and turned back to find Pepper with her arms crossed. "How long has it been since you slept?"

"Uhh…."

"Ate?"

"I, um…." _Not sure _was not the answer she was looking for. That much he knew.

"Upstairs."

"Pepper-"

"Now."

"Don't I pay you?" he grumbled, but she was already pushing him towards the door.

"You do, Mr Stark," she answered testily. "Are you going to let me do my job?"

"I'm almost done in here."

She stopped, her lips twitching down and she looked like she was trying to mask her worry with irritation. He hated when he made her worry, so he tried again for a smile. This time he actually managed it. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yep. Heading upstairs. Am I in your way if I crash out on the couch?"

"Wouldn't your bed be more comfortable?"

"I'm not tired," he lied. "I'll just flip a movie on. Gotta be something good I missed, right?"

The reference to his time in captivity didn't seem to do anything to alleviate her worry, so Tony turned and decided just to start upstairs before he shoved his foot any further down his own throat.

He made it up to the living room without collapsing into another coughing fit, but only just barely. He slumped down onto the couch, mumbling for JARVIS to list off the movies that he'd missed while he'd been…. away. The AI did so, adding a brief description with each one, and Tony finally settled on the one about the little robot that had survived the apocalypse. He tapped his tablet and the movie suddenly appeared on a holoscreen in front of the couch.

Pepper moved in and out, presumably going about her work day as best as she could with him camped out in the living room like he was, struggling and failing to keep his eyes open. He kept dozing off, waking to find that he'd missed part of the movie and that various odds and ends kept appearing. The first was a cup of tea on a coaster, still steaming as he cracked an eye open. The next was a small collection of snacks he had stored away in the kitchen. Finally, he startled as he felt a blanket draped over his shoulders and found Pepper leaned over him, the back of her hand going to his forehead. She frowned. "Are you nauseated?"

Tony shook his head. "No, just drained." He sniffed hard. "And stopped up."

"Okay." And then she was gone again, leaving him alone with the lights down low and the movie long finished.

He found himself sinking into the nightmares again. Flames and weapons of his own making. Everything hurt, and he could _feel_ the shards of shrapnel crawling their way into his heart. He felt someone take hold, speaking Farsi in his ear, and he was sure they were demanding the Jericho missile before shoving his face deep into the water.

"_Tony_!"

He shot up, suddenly wide awake and panting. It took a long moment for him to piece together he was in his own home and Pepper had really called his name. She was crouched down by the couch, brows drawn together. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he managed. "Just a nightmare." He ran his hands over his face, shoving hard at the mental images and he cleared his throat. "I'm gonna grab a shower."

"The food's almost done."

"Food?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten all day."

That was true. He hadn't even touched what she had left out for him, but if she'd gone to the effort of having an actual meal brought in, he should probably give eating a try at least. "What'd you order?" he asked as he slowly swung his legs off the side of the couch. He turned to look at her when she didn't answer right away and he thought her face was turning a little red. "What?"

"Nothing. Come on. You need-?"

"I got it," he huffed and stood, feeling her move to steady him as they started for the kitchen.

Tony couldn't smell much, but he could certainly see it. He tilted his head a little at what was most certainly not take out food. "You made this?"

"I was trying to think of something that you like that would be easy on your throat and might open your sinuses up."

"Lots of boxes to tick," he teased hoarsely, a real smile pulling into place. "You made me sausage and gnocchi. I love this stuff." His face followed her to where she was shoveling some onto a plate. "But you knew that, huh?"

He thought he saw a tiny smile of her own and she grabbed another plate. They took a seat at the bar and Tony had to admit it tasted better than anything he would have thought up.

After a long moment he could feel Pepper staring at him. "What?"

"Are the nightmares why you're not sleeping?"

He pulled in a breath with every intention to sigh, but coughed instead. He grimaced and shoveled another forkful of hot food down his scratchy throat. "It's fine… it's okay."

"It's not fine. You're running yourself into the ground. What were you even working on in there earlier?"

"Just a prototype. I just… its fine, Pepper. Really."

"You can talk to someone, you know."

"I am. You," he said with a smile and she shot him a long suffering look.

"I mean a professional. Someone to help you make sense of what you went through."

"It's not gonna change what happened. What I saw. What I'm… responsible for." He swallowed hard, the confessions rolling off his tongue without permission.

"It's not your fault, Tony."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Doesn't change the fact they were using my weapons to butcher families over there." The bluntness of the statement visibly startled her and he grimaced. "Thanks, Pepper. I'm, uh…. gonna go try to get some real sleep." He stood, pausing for just a moment. "Thanks." He didn't wait for a reply, but started for the stairs. A lot had changed in the last few months and he didn't know how to express that to her. It wasn't her fault and she couldn't help him fix it. Nobody could. It was something he had to do on his own.

* * *

**Three: Safe**

_Setting: immediately after Avengers 1_

The structure was sound, which was definitely a step in the right direction. That'd be a hell of a way to go if, after everything that had happened that day, the beams gave out and the tower crumbled down around him as he slept.

And boy did he need to sleep. The rush of adrenaline had worn off sometime during lunch. Dinner? Whatever the schwarma had been. The only reason Tony was even vaguely aware that it was night was that the sky was dark outside. Banner - the only one that had taken him up on the offer of a place to crash that night at the tower - was already sound asleep. Tony envied him, but he was determined to be awake when Pepper got there. He couldn't even be certain that JARVIS could or would wake him up when she arrived if he drifted off. While the structure was sound, the systems were hit and miss, and the diagnostics were still being run. He had to rely on a SHIELD medic to give him a once-over and declare him medically sound enough that he didn't need to find a hospital with an open bed after being tossed around like a ragdoll all day long.

The distant sound of rotor blades cutting through the air drew his attention towards the large, fractured windows - one completely shattered where Loki had thrown him through it - and he waited to see if this one actually made its way towards the tower. He'd already been fooled twice that evening, and he had no interest in unfolding from the couch if his girlfriend wasn't onboard. A small smile tilted his lips as the chopper drew closer, finally settling down on the helipad outside. He stood, feeling the day in every inch of his body, and started towards the door.

Pepper was out of the helicopter before he made it all the way out to her and she rushed to meet him. She hit hard, arms around his neck and he sank into the embrace, pulling her as close as he could. "Hey, Pep. Hey."

"Are you okay?" she sobbed into his shoulder, and he hadn't realized she could tighten her hold any more than she had already. "We were on our way back when the portal opened up and they turned us back…. I couldn't get in and they showed you on the news." She pulled back, her eyes rimmed red and Tony lifted a hand to brush at the tears.

"I'm okay."

"Was that a _bomb_?"

Tony felt his chest tighten at the thought. "Yes it was."

"What were you _thinking_?" she demanded, her voice reaching that decimale it did when she had worked herself up into a full panic. "What would have happened if it'd gone off with you carrying it? What if -?"

"Then it would have destroyed Manhattan," Tony answered as calmly as he could, mind spinning to try to decide how much he should say and how much he should keep to himself. He didn't want to scare her. That terrified look she was giving him hurt worse than his heart stopping earlier that day. Twice.

Pepper looked like she was about ready to argue, but something caught her attention and her gaze swept out over the city. The view was heartbreaking from that height, and he saw the realization slowly work its way in. Buildings destroyed, a few lasting fires standing out against the darkness all around them. New York City was devastated in the wake of the attack. "They were going to destroy everything, weren't they?"

"Pretty sure that was their plan."

She swallowed hard. "And you stopped them."

"We did, yeah." He reached out, taking hold of her hand. "I'll tell you anything you wanna know in the morning but, hon. I'm dead on my feet right now. I need some sleep."

"Yeah," she managed, finally coming down out of the spiral. She reached up, her fingers brushing the sides of his face. "But you're okay, right?"

"Fit as a fiddle," he promised and leaned in. She met him there, her lips warm against his, and he felt her fingers curl into his hair.

And then he heard it. Or felt it. He wasn't sure which. The _pop_ sounded deafening to him and he felt the familiar warmth in his chest fade rapidly. He pulled back suddenly and Pepper shot him a confused look until her gaze snapped down to his dark t-shirt. "Tony…."

"Shit."

"_Tony_," she said a little more frantically this time and he grimaced.

"Don't panic. I can fix this. Just… help me get up to the lab?"

He saw the determination settle in and she nodded, bending down to put one of his arms around her shoulders to steady him as they moved. She didn't ask questions and he didn't offer anything up, saving his breath and his strength in case his already strained heart decided it wanted to just kick off completely. Really, without the pacemaker to regulate it, it was anybody's best guess if the shrapnel or his damaged heart would kill him first. He just needed the ARC reactor back on.

The elevator was working. That was a plus. "JARVIS," he gasped out, "tell me you're up and running, buddy."

"_I am indeed up and running, sir_."

"Need a read out of my reactor."

Pepper finally loosed her hold on him as he leaned back against a work table, but she didn't go far. Tony waited for the blue light that swept over him provided his AI with the data he needed. He squeezed his eyes shut while he waited, pain centralized on his chest and he could feel his left arm starting to go numb. That was pretty sure that was a bad sign.

"_It would appear that there is wiring loose inside the reactor_."

"What wiring, J?" Tony snapped.

"_The wiring that allows for sustained power._"

"How did it just come loose?" Pepper asked as Tony turned, leaning heavily on the table and wincing as he pulled his shirt over his head. That needed to go. Next was the reactor out of its socket.

"_It appears to have sustained damage during one of the battles earlier today. Footage shows that Thor provided a temporary energy boost about five hours ago._"

The footage leapt to the screen and Tony watched himself on it. His face contorted and suddenly he was going down, writhing on the ground until Thor tapped his hammer against against the ARC reactor and provided it the jolt it had needed. He didn't dare look over at Pepper's reaction to the earlier event.

"That's been keeping it?" Tony clarified.

"_Yessir, though repairs will need to be made to reactivate the device._"

"Gotcha." At least that was doable.

Tony set the mini ARC reactor down on the work table and JARVIS flashed an overhead light on a little brighter for him to work. Pepper was hovering and he sent her to grab some tools, already starting to pull back some of the casing to get a better look. There it was. One little wire loose was causing so much trouble. What a pain.

She brought what he needed over and he had it slipped back into place in five seconds, watching in relief as it jumped back to life, the blue light illuminating the reactor. He slid it into the socket that allowed the wiring to run into his chest and it clicked into place to provide a sustainable battery for the magnet and his pacemaker. He waited a long moment before loosing a breath. Okay. Everything was okay.

"You had a heart attack?"

He spun, looking at her. "It was a very minor cardiac dysrhythmia," he said, his hands up in a calming motion.

Apparently the calming motion was not helping.

"Tony! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because in the grand scheme of things it kinda got lost in the shuffle," he answered honestly. "I had a doctor check me out. I'm good. Golden. No long term damage done from either of the blackouts today."

"Either?"

Shit.

"It's been a really long day?" he tried, hoping beyond hope that she'd believe him. He wasn't trying to hide anything. He really wasn't. He was just…. Honestly, he didn't _want_ to think about everything that had happened and try to make sense of it. He didn't think he could yet. He needed sleep, a decent breakfast in the morning, and then _maybe_ he could start processing. Maybe.

The woman he loved stared at him for a long moment before the corners of her lips pulled downward and he saw her eyes glass over.

"Oh, honey, please don't… Pep, please don't cry. I'm so sorry," he tried.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

She wrapped her arms around his neck again and he pulled her in. "Let's go to bed," she whispered in his ear.

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her temple and letting his hand drop to hers. She looked upset and still a little scared, but not angry. That had to count for something.

The living quarters had survived, for the most part. They both had clothes there and even though he'd already had a shower he didn't turn her down when she asked him to join her. She didn't bring it up again. She didn't ask any other questions, even when she saw the bruises that were forming against what felt like every inch of olive skin.

An hour later they lay in bed, her arm curled around his middle and his hand clinging to hers. He felt her tighten her hold as she pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades, the warmth flooding through him.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Taking care of me."

She gave a breathless laugh behind him like she thought he was a little crazy. "I wasn't even here, Tony."

He turned in her arms and they were mirrors of each other, both holding on. "You're here now. You're the one I get to… You're everything, Pep, you know that, right?"

She nodded, leaning so that her face was pressed against his chest and he kissed her red hair, looking for the right words. She needed to hear them as much as he needed to say them. "I know you're scared. I know… I know I'm not the easiest guy to love."

"Tony…"

"Let me finish?" He felt her nod. "But you do. Any time I need you you're there. You're scared, and you have every right to feel that way, but here you are. Making sure I'm okay. Making sure I feel safe."

She looked up at him, blue eyes brimming with tears again. "I can't protect you, Tony. I'm not -"

"You are. Right here. Right now. I feel safe."

"Really?"

"Really."

Pepper blinked hard and he saw a small smile. "Good," she whispered and settled in against him. He curled in around her, soaking in her warmth. She might not understand the how, but it didn't make it any less true. He loved her and she gave him a peace that he couldn't fathom without her. He never wanted to try again.

* * *

**Four: Broken**

_Setting: directly after Civil War_

She heard it through the grapevine. The Avengers had split ways. Like a band calling it quits. They had chosen to take different sides, and Pepper had to admit she was surprised that Tony had taken the one that he had.

And she wasn't. While Tony hated the idea of creating anything that someone else could take control of and exploit, he also struggled with his own responsibilities in it. He'd never been the best at balance, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd gone volting clear over the line into letting an agency take control over how he approached things. He wouldn't admit it to the other Avengers, she knew, but he'd always felt personally responsible for Sakovia. For all those deaths. He questioned his own judgement after it, and it had eaten at him in a way that she couldn't help him through. In the end he'd gone back to burying himself in the suits and Pepper had taken a step back. She needed it. He wasn't the only one that had been through hell, and as much as she loved him he didn't have it in him to let her help. She'd made it clear from the beginning that she couldn't watch him self destruct.

Pepper was torn. Her job had always been to take care of Tony Stark. She'd been paid to do it for so long, and then, somewhere along the way, she had found that that smile gave her peace. Those warm brown eyes set her soul free. Her hands on him, his lips pressing against hers, and the promise of _forever_ so clear between them… she couldn't imagine anything else. She didn't want to. She still didn't, even if in the end she knew it was a very real possibility that he'd done as Tony did and buried his own feelings under layers of protection. He could have flirted with every woman on the East Coast or secluded himself like a monk in their separation. It was hard to predict, but in the end it didn't matter. Not really. She knew he loved her. That was never in question. Not once. It was the balance that they had to find between what he needed and what she needed.

Because that's what partners did. In business. In life. They were partners. And while she knew that she was capable of going through life without him, she didn't want to.

And he needed her. Now more than ever with everything falling apart around him.

Pepper had never been to the compound in Upstate New York. She remembered Tony buying the land and hiring the contractors, but she'd never made it out there. It was empty now, for the most part, and it wasn't JARVIS that let her in. She knew why. It was yet another creation that they had mourned without ever saying a word because they didn't know how to put the feelings into words.

The space was wide and open, and there was a man with magenta skin that stole her attention for a long moment as she crossed through a common room, but she didn't think he ever noticed her. Instead he just phased through a wall and left her standing there by herself for a long moment.

"Hello?" Pepper called out.

"_Good evening, Miss Potts_," a woman's Irish lilt sounded off in the space.

"Which one are you?" she asked hesitantly, a strange sense of guilt clawing at her. It was silly. She knew Tony had developed multiple AI's, but JARVIS had always been his focus.

"_FRIDAY, Miss_."

"Right. Of course. Is Tony here?"

"_The boss is upstairs_," she answered.

"Okay…. Do you need to tell him I'm here or can I just go up?"

There was a pause, like the AI was considering the question. Maybe she was asking Tony if he even wanted to see her. Maybe he didn't want to see her at all. Maybe he'd dug too deep into the hurt that Pepper hated that he felt, and wouldn't let her up. Heaven knew he'd been through enough if the tabloids were anywhere close to true.

"_There's no response,_" the AI said after a moment.

"Is he okay?" She had no idea if he if he was hurt or upset or some horrible combination thereof.

Apparently FRIDAY didn't either. JARVIS would have.

"_He's conscious, but not responsive,_" hse said at last.

"Has he given you direct orders to keep people out."

"_No_."

"Then I'm going up."

She didn't wait for the AI to argue with her, but punched the elevator UP button. She stepped in and immediately realized that she didn't know what floor she was going to.

"_Third floor, Miss Potts_," FRIDAY said softly.

"Thank you, FRIDAY." She let the elevator rocket her up two floors and open, emptying her out onto a private floor. It was open, much like Pepper remembered the private sweet the layout of the Stark Tower. Which had been similar to the upstairs layout of Tony's Malibu mansion. Almost exactly, actually. Pepper shook her head as she took a gamble that wasn't really a gamble and turned left to follow the hall through to his room.

The door opened for her and the room was quiet and dark. She could make out a still figure in the bed, curled on his side in the middle and hugging a pillow in his arms and with another between his knees. She paused at the door, feeling as if she might be intruding, and knocked there. "Tony?"

He didn't move immediately, but after a long moment she saw him stir and groan. She moved forward, footsteps as quiet as they could be and she squinted in the darkness. He was curled into himself, eyes squeezed shut in the dim lights, and she reached out hesitantly. "Tony, are you awake?"

Dark eyes flashed open just before her fingertips reached his shoulder and came to land on her, wild and terrified like he'd been jolted out of a dream. FRIDAY had said he was conscious. Either she had lied or Tony had dozed off between downstairs and the third floor. There was no telling which was true, but he was awake now, and she found that wild gaze that accompanied nightmares fixed on her. "Hey," she greeted softly.

Tony blinked hard. "Hey."

"I should have called…"

"You never need to."

"I saw the news."

He snorted at that. "I haven't. What are they saying?"

"That you and Cap split ways," she answered softly.

He finally relaxed a little, but she saw his hand drift up to his chest, right over where the ARC reactor used to be, and he massaged the over the plate that resided there. "Yeah. Cap is gone. Took a few with him."

"Did you fight?" Pepper asked hesitantly.

Those dark eyes finally opened to focus on her. "Yeah."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Why are you here, Pep?"

"I was worried about you."

"Why?"

The question struck deeper than it was probably meant to. He looked truly curious. Like he couldn't fathom why she would worry over him. After all the years - the many, many years of worry - he couldn't wrap his brilliant mind around it. She had tried to explain when she left. She didn't think he had heard any of it. If that had been him or her she would never know.

"Tony," she whispered.

"You don't need to worry about me anymore, Pep," he told her, his voice soft and blunt. "I don't… pay you to worry about me anymore. Just to run the company. Unless there's a board meeting you don't have to have anything to do with me."

"I'm not here because you paid me," she said, her voice matching his own horribly soft tone. It was little more than a whisper. "I never…. I was here because of you." She tried for a smile. "Believe me. You weren't capable of paying me enough."

He watched her for a long moment, almost like he expected her to be playing a horrible joke on him. All that distrust he projected at everyone else, the distrust that they had _earned_, was now being geared at her for the first time in their relationship, and she didn't know what to do with it.

"Nobody's here because of me," he mumbled, curling in on himself. "I fund them. I equip them. That's all…" He swallowed hard and she watched him grimace and squeeze his eyes tighter.

Fear took over her worry for his personal space that he held so dear. "Tony, look at me?" She touched his arm and leaned down. "Please?" She waited until he did. "Babe, you have never paid me enough to handle all of… this. No one could be paid enough. I did it because I love you."

"Did it," he stressed.

"And still love you. I just need you to choose you as much as I do."

He stared at her in awe now and that broke her heart even more. She hated that look. Like he was putting her on a pedestal that she was destined to fall from. She just wanted to love him and be loved by him, not be exalted as anything more than that. His pain radiated through every inch of him and it geared him to extremes. He wanted to be the hero. He needed a hero to save him. She couldn't be that. She could only love him, and that hadn't been enough before. She didn't know if it was enough now, but there she was knocking against the same old door asking him to let her in and build something with her.

Finally he sat up slowly and she saw the pain etched into his face. He was physically hurt. Steve hat hurt him. Tony managed his way up to sitting, though, and she took a careful seat on the side of the bed next to him so that they could be on eye-level. Slowly, carefully, she reached out. "Tony, what happened?"

"They were murdered," he choked out.

"Who was?"

"My parents."

He could have said anyone else and it wouldn't slammed into her like the tidal wave those two words created. She reached out, and the touch on the shoulder somehow became a hug. She pulled him in and he melted against her, his own arms going carefully and slowly around her. He was tense, in pain, but he didn't let go of her. She stroked his hair and pressed a gently kiss against the side of his battered face. "Talk to me."

"Cap had a buddy from the war. Barnes. They got ahold of him and made him…. It doesn't matter. He did it. He set them up for the wreck and when it didn't kill them he smashed my dad's face in and choked my mom to death. I watched it. I watched every second of it. I couldn't…"

He was hyperventilating now, the panic setting in deep. She tightened her hold and stroked his hair. "Shh," she tried, not knowing what to say to that. What could she say? "I'm sure he didn't know."

"He did," Tony choked. "He did, and he….. Hell, Pep, I thought he was my friend. I thought he…." He squeezed his eyes closed. "I gotta stop."  
"Stop what?"

He waved a hand out to gesture widely. "All of this. Trusting people. Obie, Steve. I can't…. I thought I could, but I can't. I don't know how. I'm not… I can't…"  
He was spiraling and she wasn't sure how to stop it. "Tony, he's not Obadiah. He wouldn't -"

He stopped, choking against what he was trying to say and she saw his hand go to his chest again. She reached on impulse and pulled his shirt up, revealing olive skin blotched with the earliest signs of deep bruising. "Did Steve do this?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah."

She felt her own breath draw short. "Were you… suited up?" The image of an unprotected Tony flashed to mind, laid out on the ground with the Super Soldier over him, angry and vicious. It horrified her.

"Yeah."

She wasn't sure if that was better or worse. Her fingers ghosted over damaged skin and he winced hard. "He did this with your suit on? How?"

"Shield. The one…. my dad made for him. His buddy killed my dad and he kicked my ass with it. I see the irony, Pep."

"I don't," she growled dangerously and tightened her hold on him. "Tony, there's no excuse. He was your friend and he…." She swallowed hard, her fingers resting against the injury. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm -"

"_His sternum is fractured on either side of the plate, adding injury to bruised ribs_," FRIDAY offered and Tony looked up at the ceiling with a vicious glare.

"Traitor."

Pepper offered a small smile, gentle hands pushing him down until he was laid back against the pillow. "You need rest."

"Not a lot of that going around."

She winced at that, knowing exactly what he meant even if he weren't willing to say it. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I'm not gonna ask you to."

"I didn't ask if you would ask me to. I asked if you wanted me to."

"You made it pretty clear -"

"That I was scared," she cut him off. "I still am, but obviously that doesn't do a damn thing, does it? Do you know I was in Hong Kong? I saw the footage. It was all over the news. I had meetings tomorrow and suddenly I was telling the pilot to take me back to New York."

"I didn't ask you to," he said hesitantly.

"I know. And I'm not blaming you…. I'm just saying… it doesn't matter, Tony. I can put a planet between us and I still worry about where you are and how you're doing. Are you sleeping at night? Are you eating? Are you getting so caught up in work you don't know which way is up? I don't just want you alive, I want you to be _well_. I love you, you idiot."

He stared up at her, the shadows of the room playing across his skin. "You wanna bunk over?" he asked after a long moment.

"More than anything."

"I got that MIT t-shirt you love in the closet over there."

"Perfect."

He gave her a hesitant smile and she leaned down, close enough to kiss him, but she didn't quite make contact in case he wanted to pull back. Instead she felt his hand move up, pulling her closer, and their lips met. She felt the desperation in the way he kissed her and the way that his fingers gripped at her coat.

She broke just long to press her forehead against his and stand, going in search of the shirt he'd mentioned. She found it, changed, and returned within just a couple of minutes and he pulled the sheets back for her. She crept down into them, snuggling close, and he inched back against her. Slowly but surely she felt his tense muscles relax a little more and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "I love you, Tony, I never stopped."

"I know."

"Really?"

"I'd hoped," he confessed softly and she smiled.

"You were right."

He turned towards her then, those brown eyes locked with her own blue and he stared at her for a long moment. "I couldn't stop loving you, even if I wanted to."

She leaned in, her lips against his, and she heard him mumble something she couldn't quite make out. It didn't matter. Nothing did, in the end. Just them, and the world that they could build together. The world she knew she needed. There were a lot of things she couldn't change in his life and she knew - through horrifying experience she knew - that she'd _always_ worry over him, but she couldn't let him go. She didn't want to, so she'd hold on so tight that maybe, if she were lucky, the bad guys would have to come through her to get to him.

* * *

**Five: Home**

_Setting: Endgame_

She'd dreamed about him every night that he'd been gone. They started the night that that he didn't come home after hopping on an alien spacecraft to chase after whatever it was that had attacked New York that day. She'd been angry and scared, and she'd gone home alone and slept curled around his pillow and praying to anyone that would listen that he'd come back. Then he didn't, and then half the world ended. She had watched as board members sitting around the table had stopped mid-argument, eyes wide and horror struck before they began to dissolve into nothing. She had gotten ahold of Natasha, an old phone number that she was surprised still worked, and had been told that they had lost. Tony had been after Thanos too, and if Thanos won that must have meant…. That he'd lost. Natasha had done what she could to calm her down from thousands of miles away with her own tragedies staring her in the face and Pepper had gone home to an empty condo again. For nights after that she saw his face, eyes tinted red and he would reach out to her as he faded into nothing. She was starting to understand why he always had so much trouble sleeping.

Those same dreams haunted her right up until she got a call. Surprisingly enough, this one wasn't from Natasha. It was Steve Rogers. His voice was hesitant and she wondered if he knew how much she'd hated him for what he'd done to the man she loved, but that didn't matter the moment he told her they were trying to bring him home. How? A woman that Fury had trusted. Danvers. She traveled space. If he was up there, she was the one that could find him. She'd promised to look and, if Pepper wanted to, she was welcome to come to the compound to wait for news.

It was three in the morning and she packed her bags then and there.

For a few nights, Pepper dreamt of him coming home to her. That smile, an easy quip about the message that he was alright getting lost in space, and his arms around her as she sank into them. They were good dreams, even if they left her torn when she woke. In those few nights that she spent at the compound she never once imagined him gaunt and hollowed out. No food, no water, and barely any oxygen by the time Carol found him. He'd been walking though, even if the woman that was with him was holding him upright, and Pepper flung her arms around him. He was home. He was safe. She was never going to let him go again.

The forgiveness that she felt for Steve Rogers abated when Rhodey told her what had happened in their meeting. She'd been catching a few minutes' sleep because she hadn't dared close her eyes the night before in case she woke to find that it had all been a dream after all. Now he was laid out in the hospital bed, sedated and resting, and she wouldn't be moved for anything. Well, almost anything.

Pepper saw Steve making his way towards the room Tony was sleeping in, his gaze focused, and she was on her feet and blocking the door by the time he got there. The Super Soldier looked startled at what she knew must have looked like an aggressive move. She certainly hoped it did.

"Pepper… I just wanted to check on him."

"No."

He blinked hard at that, startled. "Listen, we're going after Thanos. I don't know how long we're going to be gone and I just want to make sure that he's okay before we go. Please. I know…. I know we've had our differences, but he is my friend."

"Then you'll let him rest."

"I didn't mean to set him off."

"But you did, and if it was intentional or not really doesn't matter. What does matter is that he needs to sleep. He needs to recover. Obviously you doing whatever you did doesn't make that possible." She squared her shoulders, pulling herself up to her full height which was still so much shorter than the blond man standing in front of her. She wasn't a superhero. She couldn't fight villains or save the city, but she'd be damned if she didn't protect the man she loved most from the one that just kept seeming to hurt him.

There was a long moment in which they stood there, stubborn silence between them both, but finally Steve loosed a long breath and nodded. "When he wakes up, will you tell him…." He closed his eyes, struggling for a moment. "Tell him I'm glad he's home."

She didn't offer an answer and he finally took the hint, turning and starting back in the direction he came. She watched, struggling to keep her composure.

"Pep?"

Pepper turned at the sound of the weak voice from the bed and the aggression melted away in an instant. Tony reached up and she crossed the space between them and took his hand, squeezing it. "Hey. How're you feeling?"

"Like shit," he mumbled and his gaze was still blurry. He was awake, but he was still doped up on the sedative that Bruce had given him. "Thanks."

"For what?"

A small smile tugged at his chapped lips and she felt his fingers curl around her own just a little tighter. He nodded towards the door. "Always count on you to protect me."

"I'm not sure I could have actually done anything to stop him if he'd really wanted to come in," she confessed, a smile of her own inching into place.

A breath chuckle escaped him. "You're scary. You could beat him."

She hummed, soft and amused, before leaning down to press a kiss against his forehead. He leaned into it, the movement sluggish, but he hadn't relinquished her hand. "I know… I should give them something. I would if I could. There's nothing… that's why we lost. Why I -"

"Hey." She waited for him to look up at her. "You've given them enough. I know that that may not mesh with the whole superhero thing, but you don't _owe_ them anything."

"I failed."

"No," she managed, feeling her composure start to break. "I know you. You gave everything to that fight, and then you beat the odds and came back to me. Whatever happened out there, you did _not_ fail."

There was a long moment where he watched her, his gaze a little more focused. "I wanna go home. Can we go home, Pep?"

"Yeah." She pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Let's go home."

* * *

**And One: His Turn**

_Setting: Just after Iron Man 2_

Tony Stark didn't do romantic relationships. He did one-night-stands and hookups, but the idea of seeing the same woman again and again had always been exhausting. He was the type to get bored easily, so long before they ever had the chance to start clinging or expecting anything out of him, he cut them loose. Until now.

It was amazing how well everything just clicked into place when it came to dating Pepper. She knew all of his little quirks, all of his likes and dislikes, and she didn't let him steamroll over her for anything. They complimented each other. Where he worked in an extremes, she was a master of balance. He hyper focused and she pulled him back around to see the bigger picture. They always had something to talk about, the conversation - who knew that you could have a deep, meaningful conversation with someone you were seeing? - never lagged. She was as intelligent as she was beautiful, but that wasn't news to him. He'd always known it. He just hadn't expected her to actually be willing to put up with him in the end. But a month later she was still with him, and he was determined not to screw this up.

Any idiot with a credit card could buy a dozen roses and a box of chocolates or a pretty piece of jewelry, and Tony had bought plenty over the years for women that, in the end, had just been a fun night or two. A parting gift for the ones that might have thought it would turn into something more than just that. He didn't dare show up with some pretty trinket for Pepper Potts on their month anniversary. It needed to be personal. It needed to be so much better.

He'd worked hard to set the evening up, and it was a good thing he'd started early too because it was quickly proving her point that he didn't function well without her. He'd been determined to do it on his own though, and somehow he had managed to keep it off her radar. He'd called around, done the research, and finally settled on a romantic night out on a boat for just the two of them. No distractions and the only suit in sight would be the three piece, two button Armani that he was wearing. And she didn't suspect a thing. He was rather proud of himself for it.

Tony tapped on her front door, the flowers he'd brought held tightly in one hand. Not roses, though. Pepper liked roses okay, as far as he knew, but he was pretty sure that her favourites were camellia. Granted, he might have cheated a little by asking JARVIS to run a search on security footage in their office building to see if she'd ever had flowers delivered and, if so, what kind. They hadn't been delivered, but he'd found out that she regularly kept camellias on her desk before she became CEO. How he didn't remember that was lost on him until JARVIS reminded him that he'd stepped foot in Pepper's office a whopping one time in all the years she'd worked for him. Well, okay. There was that, but at least he was trying.

She didn't open the door immediately and Tony shifted where he stood, hoping that the element of surprise wasn't backfiring on him. He knocked again and heard a shuffle inside before the locks on the door started to slide out of place and it opened. Tony's grin faded slowly as his gaze swept her up and down. She was dressed for bed, her hair hanging loose and her nose almost as red as her hair was. There were deep bags under her eyes and her skin looked a little paler than usual except where it was flushed across the bridge of her nose and along her cheeks. "Tony," she croaked. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you sick?"

"Very astute," she grumbled and her blue gaze drifted down to the flowers and then to his suit. "We didn't have a date tonight, did we? I'm sorry, I -"

"No no," he said quickly. "Nothing planned. I was going to surprise you."

"They're beautiful," she said tiredly. "I like those."

"I know." He tried for a smile. "I, uh…" He shifted nervously, not sure what to do. Should he offer to get out of her way, let her rest? Or should he ask if she wanted him to stay? Try to do whatever he could to help her feel a little better. That's what she'd do for him. That's what she had done for him many times before.

"Let me get them in water," Pepper said, taking the bundle of flowers from him and leaving the door open in her wake.

He stepped in after her and it dawned on him that he had never actually been inside her place. He'd known her for years, been dating her a month, and he'd never been inside her apartment. It was small and tastefully decorated. Everything he would have expected from Pepper. "Have you eaten?" he called after her, following further in. That seemed like a safe question. It was the first one out of her mouth every time he was sick.

"Not in a few hours. I've felt pretty rotten today."

"I can order something in. Keep you company?"

"I don't want you to get sick."

He followed her voice around into her kitchen where she was pulling a vase from the cupboard. "I got it," he offered and she relinquished the vase. It nearly slipped from his hands and they shared a look of relief when he managed to get control of it, stopping the descent and eventual shattering on the tile. "And it's fine. You take care of me all the time."

She shot him a skeptical look and he turned and busied himself with putting water in the glass holder and then putting the flowers in. They didn't look particularly well arranged, but at least they wouldn't dry up. Finally, he risked a look back at her. She was leaned against the bar, looking perfectly miserable, and he couldn't help but feel like she was waiting for him to screw something up.

After a long moment she relented. "Promise you won't cook?"

He flashed her a grin. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"No, but I'm very particular about my kitchen." She sneezed hard, nearly rocking herself off her feet with it and groaned loudly.

"I won't cook," he promised her and reached out. "Please, Pep? Let me look after you for once, huh?"

There was another moment of hesitation before she finally nodded, mumbling under her breath before turning to shuffle back to the bedroom and crawl under the covers.

Tony waited a long moment before he pulled out his cell, hitting the speed dial. "Hap? Hey. I need you to do me a favour."

* * *

Pepper wasn't sure how long she'd been sleeping when she started surfacing. Her head was stuffy and her chest congested, and all she wanted to do was keep her eyes closed and hope it would go away if she gave it a couple more hours. There was a hand against her face, though, and as she finally cracked an eye open she saw Tony come into focus. That's right. She'd told him he could stay.

"Food's here," he said softly. "You want me to bring it in here or come out to the kitchen?"

"'m not hungry," she mumbled, burrowing a little deeper into the covers.

"Yeah, but you have to eat."

He wasn't going to leave her alone until she did, that much was clear. She huffed and grumbled as she sat up, taking in the room. There was a fresh kleenex box by her bed along with decongestant medicine, throat lozenges, and a fresh water bottle, none of which had been sitting there when she'd gone to bed. She was relatively sure that she hadn't even had any of the medicine when the cold had hit that morning. "Did you get that?"

"Yeah. Well, had it brought over, but yeah."

She nodded and he offered her a hand up. She took it and leaned a little into him as they made their way into the living room that connected to her kitchen. On the bar sat several bags, all apparently from the drugstore, and next to those a cup of soup from a restaurant down the street. She snorted a laugh when her gaze finally landed on the balloon tied to one of the chairs that read _Get Well Soon_.

"Too much?" Tony asked, his expression halfway between a smile and a grimace, like he wasn't sure which way to go with it.

Pepper leaned into him, her arm around the small of his back tightening. "Yes, but it's sweet."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Bring the food over to the couch?"

He scurried over to do what she asked and she sank gratefully down into the cushions, watching him. He brought the soup over to her and went back to grab another box of kleenexes, a bottle of water, and the herbal tea that she hadn't spotted that apparently he'd also had delivered. Well, he never did do anything halfway. Once she was set he grabbed his own food from the counter and joined her.

"So where were we going tonight?" she asked between careful bites.

"Oh, I just had this thing… for our first month in -"

"First month in what?"

"Dating."

She shot him a suspicious look. Even if he'd shed the jacket and vest, rolled up his sleeves, and she was pretty sure those were his shoes shoved under the chair in the kitchen, he'd looked sharp when he arrived. He was taking a first month anniversary seriously. "What'd you have planned?"

"It's nothing."

"Tony."

"Might have rented out a boat off the coast and a whole dinner and…."

"And you got stuck taking care of me when I'm sick."

"I'm not stuck doing it," he said, sounding rather offended. "I want to."

"You hate being around people when they're sick."

"Well, it's not my first choice, but they're also not you."

"This is definitely a change from the last time I was sick."

"What'dya mean?"

"You told me to wear a surgical mask."

Tony stopped, head tilted a little to the side as he thought, and she could see the moment that the memory popped into place. "Oh. I was literally dying, Pep. My immune system was shot at that point."

"I still wish you'd told me."

"I didn't want you to worry."

She watched him for a long moment, finding those dark eyes fixed on her. He'd changed in the last couple of years. He was still Tony Stark with all that that implied, but he was softer with her. Gentle and caring and… he was working hard to be thoughtful when that might not be his first instinct. She found her lips tugging at the corners. "You're sweet, you know that?"

Tony offered her a lopsided smile of his own and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "You mentioned that with the balloon. I think the fever's getting to you. You done? Ready to head back into the bedroom?"

"I honestly don't think I can get back up right now. I may just sleep here."

"Okay. Two seconds." He was up in a flash, gathering up her food and she heard him move it to the kitchen. She wasn't entirely sure where he went after that until he rounded back into the living room with a pillow from her bed and a throw blanket. Surprisingly, though, he settled back down on the couch, pillow in his lap.

She started to argue that he'd get bored or any other number of problems if she fell asleep like that, but swallowed them. It was an exercise in futility to try to talk Tony out of anything that he wanted, and it seemed like all he wanted that night was to make her feel a little better. So she settled in, relaxing against the pillow, and she felt his fingers run through her hair in a soothing motion that was lulling her quickly towards sleep. "I love you, Pep," she thought she heard him say and she let a content sigh escape.

"I love you too."

* * *

END

Notes: Well that was fun. 10.5K in less than 24 hours, but it was fluffy and sweet Pepperony, so I'm thrilled with it :D

Off to go work on the video for tomorrow's prompt.


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